Envy

Summary: Envy is a sinful desire for something another person possesses. It clouds reason and blurs moral lines. Given enough time, envy can cause people to commit atrocious acts against their fellow man.

Chapter 1

Samuel regained consciousness the
same way a person falls asleep, slowly at first, then altogether at once. The young man inhaled a sharp breath as his
eyes flew open and he teetered on the edge of dreams and reality. His mind felt slow, as though his thoughts
were moving through molasses. A numbness
ran throughout his body that made him question whether or not he was actually
awake. He felt as though he were
floating in the depths of some inky black abyss far beneath the surface of the
ocean. The amount of time he lingered in
that twilight zone was lost to Samuel. Perhaps
it was mere seconds, or maybe years. The
natural fear of becoming trapped inside this limbo began to take hold of Samuel
and he began to fight it. It drove him,
as it does all humans, to shake off the peaceful, comatose state of sleep and
plunge into reality.

Struggling to grip
his flickering consciousness, Samuel squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
Feeling began to return to the young
man’s limbs as he rose from the abyss and broke through the surface of sleep. Like most people as they awake, Samuel
instantly longed to go back into the waters of sleep. But the endless ocean
that had consumed him not a moment ago had now entirely dried up, and he was
left lying on a freezing, desolate, rough desert floor. A sharp pain enveloped the back of his head
as his skull scraped across the unforgiving barren ground.

Trying in vain to rise
off his back, the young man found himself securely fastened to the dusty rock
beneath him by his wrists and ankles. It was at this moment that a fierce panic
seized Samuel. Fear swept the fog from
his mind in one hearty gust as he began to strain against his shackles. Aiding the tempest of fear that swelled in his
chest was an ebony darkness that seemed to follow him from the realm of sleep. A pitch blackness surrounded him. The tempest rose from his chest and ripped
through his throat, finally exploding from his lips in the form of an ear
wrenching scream. The sound of his own terror stricken cry reverberated around
Samuel as he heaved deep breaths of cold, dust filled air. His yell had released the pent up fear in his
chest, but even as the last echo began to fade the trepidation that had seized him
so violently began to build once more. Another
desperate screech leapt from Samuels’s throat while he wrenched with all his
might in his restraints. He continued in
this manner, crying for help and wriggling like a madman for quite some time. It wasn’t long until Samuel’s throat was as
raw as the inflamed skin that grated under his restraints.

Finally,
after what seemed like an eternity of lying in the darkness, a sliver of light
pierced the blanket of black. Touching his chin to his chest, Samuel grimaced
and squinted as the light grew. While
the sliver of light expanded it was accompanied by the shrill squeal of a
well-aged door. Samuel’s eyes relaxed as
a shadow fell over his face and the joy that came with the sight of warm light
was quickly dispersed. Framed in a hazy outline, a crooked silhouette appeared
in the doorway. It sent a chill down the young man’s already frozen spine. Hunched over a cane, the figure hobbled
forward slowly, carefully, as if the simple act of walking was near impossible.
As the cripple stumbled towards Samuel,
his eyes began to adjust to the light. It was an elderly man, wrinkled and spotted,
with mere strands of white hair lacing his shriveled head. In one hand his knotted, twitching fingers
clung to the top of his cane as if the stick held the man’s very life-force. In the other he gripped the handle of a tool
that Samuel couldn’t quite make out at first. But then the thin tool shook as the man
stumbled and a glint of light flashed against the long, serrated blade. A saw.

Despite
all of this, Samuel might have been able to remain calm, had he not locked eyes
with his captor. Truly, it was
terrifying. It was like the gaze of a
desperate, hungry animal. Whatever life
the old man had left in him was fixed in that gaze. His last hope, his last chance. Samuel’s heart began to race once more.
Stopping
just a few steps away from Samuel’s feet, the old man let out a long sigh, like
a train settling in at a station. Never
breaking eye contact, and with apparent effort, the man began to swing the saw
back and forth. Clearly in pain, the old
man lurched his whole body in time with his swings. Once he had accrued the energy, he released
his feeble grip on the saw and tossed it forward. Clanging loudly against the icy concrete, the
saw slid up next to Samuel’s sternum. Shaking from both fear and cold, it took
Samuel a moment to find his voice.

“Wh-what
do you w-want?” Samuel whispered
hoarsely. In response the old man began
to slowly make his way downward. Leaning
heavily on his cane, the old man shook as he lowered himself to the ground. Samuel had to strain his neck to keep the man
in his vision as he sat down, his legs folding under him in awkward contortions.
With shaking, gnarled hands, the man
began to methodically roll up the leg of his pants. First his right, then his left, right up to
where the knee connects to the shin. Heaving
from the simple effort, the old man slumped over on one elbow and reached into
his pocket, allowing the light from the doorway to fall on his legs. Two, well worn, metal prosthetics glinted
eerily in the light. Sitting back up,
the legless man produced a small box and a tiny remote with a single button
from his pocket. He laid them wordlessly on the ground beside his thigh.

As
the old cripple regained his breath, he reached up under his pants and detached
his legs, one after another. By now he
was breathing through his mouth in thick, congested heaves. Strands of saliva crisscrossed like spider
webs inside his near toothless mouth. The
gooey strands shook as the old man shoved his two legs away from his body. Then, grabbing the palm sized box from his
side, he opened it and pulled forth a long, thick needle with clear wire strung
through its head.

Samuel’s
stomach lurched at the sight of the needle and a bead of cold sweat rolled down
his cheek. Grabbing his cane, the man
leaned forward with a great effort. Barely able to control his shaking arm, the
old man touched the end of his cane to the base of Samuel’s left kneecap and
traced and line across it. He then
repeated the process with the young man’s right leg.
“Y-you
want m-my legs?” The old man nodded
slowly as he set his cane to the side. Samuel
could feel the edge of the saw pressing against his ribs. “Are you g-going to cut m-my legs off?” Tears began to fill Samuels’s eyes as he shook
in his restraints. The old man smiled. It was a mad, malevolent, malicious smile that
made Samuel want to scream. Reaching to
his back waistband the old man brought forth a small pistol. Holding the gun in one hand and the needle in
the other, the man reached down and pressed the button on the small remote by
his side. As the restraints on Samuels’s
wrists flew open, freeing the young man’s hands, the old cripple’s smile grew
even wider.
“No,
my boy, you’ll be doing that yourself.”

Write a Review
Did you enjoy my story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
Madax_Davids

Kat Paul:
I know you mentioned thinking of making this into the introductory chapter of a longer story... What you have so far definitely intrigues me! My favorite bit is the twist about poor Bergen giving the creature the inspiration for its identity. What would interest me the most in the rest of the s...

Deleted User:
This is an artfully-written horror story which deals with the most frightening monsters in the entire history of the macabre: teenagers. Indeed, the author captures the speech, relationships, and general highly-charged, petty, and competitive atmosphere of high school so well, that you would swea...

duggsy:
This kept me intrigued, I only intended on reading 1 chapter but couldn't stop until I'd read the whole thing. The only let-down were a few spelling mistakes hence the 3 stars but otherwise a great read.

Tobi Doyle MacBrayne:
I was so impressed with this piece. The slow degradation of the main character into a dark and crazy place is beautifully written. I liked that the characters physical descriptions were not described because it gave me a sense that it could be someone I know or love. The grief that breaks the m...

E_W_Hemmings:
First of all, sorry this review took so long: I've had science mocks recently and then when I came to read this, I made notes to put in the review like I usually do... but then I deleted them. Well done me. As a result, this review is a bit more general than most reviews I write, but hey ho, let'...

MusketeerAdventure:
Well - I really enjoyed this very much! The whole idea of a shared haunting really intrigues me. I thought you did a wonderful job; and I really liked the idea of hearing from the first ghost's point of view. It would be interesting to read more about these two - and the ghost-busters that inf...

Deleted User:
(A review in progress). I like this. It's sparse, gritty and atmospheric - reminiscent of the classic Golden Age of American detective fiction of the Thirties. I've only read the beginning, but I'll definitely be back. This writer knows their stuff and has done their homework on detective work. T...

Alex Rushmer:
I read the first chapter, and I'm not sure I can handle anymore, but I certainly liked what I read. The idea of the drug, Fortis, was very interesting, and I enjoyed how you conveyed its effects. The beginning is very intriguing. I think I'd like to see you do a little more with the main characte...

shadowmaven:
At first, the word "Dagon" threw me, making me think that this was going to be a story based on one of Lovecraft's, and was pleasantly surprised--no, make that thrilled--when it wasn't (honestly, I like your mythos more). Your writing is so lyrical, deftly capturing this tiny village and the rela...

Resting-Madness:
I've been in love that strongly, that I could see myself in the same situation as Surgio. The slow crawl of desperation was well depicted, I could feel myself leaning close to the screen, like he and I were conspiring together on how to construct this Frankenstein of Adela. And that's written thr...

Shelley Miller:
The ideas and the set up and this are amazing! The feel of the story goes from science fiction to horror to suspense all in a big, thrilling ball. I really like your character so far and her powers and the idea of the ark being a person. The world is intense and gritty and clever as well. While a...